Forbidden Fruit
by TitansRule
Summary: Don finds out about Stella's undercover plan and he visits Jess to let her know that he's not happy about it. Rating for second chapter only. Story #55 in my 'Kindred Spirits' series.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own CSI: NY.  
****Series: 'Kindred Spirits'.  
****Spoilers: **_**The Box**_**; **_**The Triangle**_**; **_**Forbidden Fruit**_**; minor spoilers for **_**The Cost of Living.**_

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Forbidden Fruit

"_Lindsay's pregnant."_

_Jess spun around, her hand flying to her hip, momentarily forgetting that her gun was in its holster on the back of a chair. "Dammit, Flack; don't do that!" She sighed, turning back to the saucepan on the stove. "How did you get in?"_

"_I know where you keep your spare key." Don answered, with a smirk she could hear in his voice. "What are you doing?"_

_Jess pushed a stray hair out of her face. "I dunno, Don; what does it look like I'm doing?"_

"_I didn't know you could cook." Don commented._

"_That's because I don't do it very often." Jess told him. "I just got fed up with take-outs." She turned the heat off. "Now …" She turned to face him again. "Did you just say Lindsay's pregnant?"  
Don nodded, a smile on his face. "Yup. Danny just told me. He's really excited."_

"_Really?" Jess asked, a little sceptical. "I mean, Danny's one of my best friends, but … really?"_

"_Yeah, I was surprised." Don admitted, sitting down. "But, you know, Danny loves her so much and … no, I got nothing, if I'm honest." He sighed. "He asked her to marry him. She said no."_

"_That doesn't surprise me." Jess fell onto the couch next to him._

"_Oh yeah?" Don reached over and pulled her on to his lap. "And why's that?"_

"_Because he was only asking her because of the baby." Jess reasoned. "No girl wants that."_

"_Isn't that the responsible thing to do though?" Don asked. "I mean, it's his baby."_

"_Yeah, but …" Jess sighed. "Every little girl has, at some point, planned her dream wedding. I think even I did it, once. Mind you, I was wearing my dad's hockey jersey rather than one of my mom's dresses."_

_Don sniggered. "I can see you doing that."_

_Jess grinned. "The point is, every girl's dream wedding is different, just like every girl's dream guy is different. But the one thing they all have in common is 'he loves me'. Not 'he got me pregnant and it's the right thing to do'."_

_Don nodded understandingly. "Alright, I hear you. So, Detective, what was your dream guy like?"_

_Jess was silent for a few minutes, thinking back. "Can't remember."_

"_Seriously?" Don asked. "I thought all girls kept that in their minds at all times."_

_Jess smiled. "Don, I gave up on fairy-tales a long time ago."_

"_You don't believe in fairy-tales?"_

_Jess tilted her head back so she could see him and laughed at the incredulous expression on his face. "Nope; can't say I do."_

_Don shook his head and pulled her into a kiss. "We'll have to fix that."_

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It had been three weeks since they'd had that discussion and Jess was beginning to remember _why_ she didn't believe in fairy-tales.

She hadn't seen Don all day; in fact, she would even have gone as far to say he was avoiding her.

She went straight home after work, running through every reason he could have for doing exactly that, but she could think of nothing, only that maybe his case had caught up with him.

As she showered, she decided that, if he didn't call, she would head over to his apartment and ask him what was going on.

The thought was more nerve-wracking than she thought and she scowled at her reflection, tying her damp hair up out of the way while she dressed. Why should it be? Aside from being her boyfriend, they'd been friends for more than two years; she shouldn't have any problem asking him if he was mad at her.

A knocking at the door interrupted her thoughts and she cast an eye over what she was wearing, realising she couldn't answer the door like that. "Who is it?"

"It's me." Don's muffled voice floated through to her.

"You know where the key is." Jess called, going back to rifling through her wardrobe.

A second later, she heard the door open and close and Don's voice without any obstruction. "Jess?"

"In here." Jess sighed, still searching. _Why do clothes always hide when you want to find them?_

"What were you thinking?"

Jess started and turned to face him. "What?"

"What were you thinking?" Don repeated.

It looked like Jess was about to find out why he'd been avoiding her, but given the emotion in his voice, she wasn't sure she wanted to. "What was I thinking when?"

Don sighed. "Jess, can you do me a favour a put a robe on? I'm trying to be mad at you here and you're not making it very easy."

Jess rolled her eyes, but grabbed her robe from the inside of her closet and put it on, a small part of her relishing in the fact that her in her underwear could distract him from whatever was bothering him, something she had learnt was nearly impossible. "Now why are you mad at me?"

"I had a very interesting conversation with Mac today." Don stated, his voice cold. "He asked me what the hell I was thinking letting Stella use _my_ partner in an undercover operation to catch a serial killer. Now, this was all news to me, so I asked him what he meant and I hope to God, Jessica, that he has somehow misunderstood the situation. So why don't you tell me what this little 'undercover operation' involves?"

Jess took a deep, shaky breath. She had known, of course, that she would have to tell Don sooner or later, if not because he was her partner, because he was her boyfriend. But she hadn't anticipated this conversation coming so soon and it had never occurred to her that this was why he was avoiding her.

"Okay … Stella and I caught a murder in an antique store today; same MO as the rat fisherman, so we knew it was Sebastian Diakos and there was an antique coin missing. So we got a guy to create fakes and sent me to his partner at the embassy as someone who's trying to sell them." She finished her explanation quickly, hoping he wouldn't catch all that she'd said.

From the look on his face, he had. "You're crazy. You're completely … What the hell were you thinking?"

"I was thinking we could catch a serial killer." Jess stated. "This guy has immunity from the Greek Embassy, Don; it's not as simple as …"

"You are putting a giant target on your own back!" Don cut her off.

Jess folded her arms. "Oh, so now I can't take care of myself?"

Don sighed. "That's not what I said, Jessica! This guy has murdered two people and attacked Stella – it's not easy to catch her off guard, but he managed it. I just …" He turned away from her, the anger suddenly melting from his voice, leaving behind a fear she could practically taste in the air. "I care about you, Jess; I don't want to lose you."

Jess felt awful. She hadn't told him because she knew that Mac had told Stella to drop the investigation; it had never occurred to her how he would feel about the danger she was putting herself in. "Don, I'm in no more danger this time than I was when I was bait to catch Suspect X; what's the difference?"

"The difference, Jessica, is that last time, my entire team was nearby in case you got made and there was no danger to you unless you were." Don answered. "Drop the case."

Jess raised an eyebrow. "Is that a request or an order?"

"A request." Don still didn't turn back to face her. "But if I have to turn it into an order, I will."

Jess sighed. "Don, I'm sorry for not telling you. And I'm sorry for worrying you. But I am not dropping this case. We need to get this guy and Stella will carry on with this plan with or without me." She slipped her arms around his waist, resting her head on his back. "Can't you just trust me?"

For a few seconds, there was no response, then Don breathed a sigh of his own. He turned so he was facing her and cupped her face gently. "Of course I trust you. And your judgement. I'm sorry for over-reacting and I'm not gonna try to order you off the case. I'm not that stupid. Just … be careful?"

Jess smiled at him. "I always am." She kissed him lightly and pulled away. "So can I lose the robe now and carry on getting dressed?"

"There's two movements that should never be in the same sentence." Don commented, tugging lightly on the two ties that held the cloth together. "How about you just lose the robe and we can both carry on getting dressed later?"

Jess smirked at him. "Remember, you've been avoiding me all day; I'm a little mad at you for that." She dropped her robe on the floor, returning to her somewhat fruitless search, fully aware of his intake of breath behind her. She knew that he hadn't let himself pay attention to what she'd been wearing earlier.

"What are you looking for?" Don asked, his voice a little shaky.

"My favourite shirt." Jess answered nonchalantly, glancing over her shoulder. "What's with you? You've seen me in my underwear before."

"Yeah, for a few seconds in the locker room at work." Don reminded her. "That's a completely different situation and either you need to find that shirt and get dressed or I need to leave this room."

Jess turned to face him. "I don't look _that_ bad, do I?"

Don's head snapped up from where he was staring determinedly at the floor. "That's not what I meant!"

"I know." Jess sniggered. "But the look on your face …"

"I didn't know you had a tattoo." Don remarked as she turned away again. "I mean, I knew you had one on your wrist, but I didn't know about that one."

Jess glanced down at the small mark on her hip, just above her panties. "Yeah, I got it done about two years ago." She heard footsteps and then his arms slipped around her waist as he kissed her shoulder.

"What is it?" Don asked, his fingers tracing over it.

Jess fought to understand the question, his touch burning through her. "It's the … NYPD shield and my badge number … with the motto underneath."

"_Fidelis ad mortem_." Don concluded, pushing the strap aside to continue his trail of kisses across her skin. "Faithful until death. This favourite shirt of yours … is it purple with a silvery thing on the front?"

Jess rolled her eyes. "I suppose that would be a male description, yes. Why?"

"Is it this one?" Don asked, pointing to a shirt hanging up in front of her.

Jess blushed lightly. "Yes, it is." She pulled it out. "Thanks."

"Hang on, Detective." Don caught her hands. "Where were you planning on going?"

"To talk to you." Jess answered. "I wanted to know why you were mad at me."

"Not mad." Don corrected. "Worried. And I'm right here."

Jess grinned. "So I don't need to put a shirt on? How am I gonna have a sensible conversation with you then?"

Don turned her in his arms and returned to her neck again, his voice vibrating against her throat. "Who said anything about a conversation?"

"What …" Jess bit back a moan, letting her head fall back as he bit down lightly on her skin, before soothing it gently. "What do you suggest we do instead then?"

Don lifted his head to meet her eyes, a smirk on his face. "How about you tell me if you were expecting me to see you in this," he ran a finger over the top of her bra strap, "this evening?"

"And what gave you that idea?" Jess asked. "Sometimes I just wear things like this to make myself feel better." A smirk of her own appeared. "For that matter, who said you were the guy I was expecting to see it?"

"Don't joke about things like that, Jess." Don murmured, kissing her hard. "It's not funny."

"Sorry." Jess whispered, her smirk softening. "And no, I wasn't expecting you to see me like this. Actually I … I was half-expecting you to end things."

Don gaped at her. "Jess, why would I do something stupid like that?"

Jess shrugged, avoiding his gaze. "You'd been avoiding me all day; I didn't know why."

Don ran his hand through her hair and kissed her softly, in complete contrast to every other kiss they'd shared. This sent a shiver through her, made every nerve ending quiver with anticipation. He pulled away, still holding her close, locking her gaze with his. "I wouldn't give this up for the world, Jess. I'm in this for the long shot, alright? I'm not going anywhere."

"I know." Jess assured him, leaning against him. "But I'm allowed to jump to conclusions; I'm a woman as well as a homicide detective."

Don pulled away a little and ran an appreciative eye over her. "Believe me, Detective, I know."

Jess laughed quietly. "Mind … gutter … out."

Don's hand slipped from her hair and down her back until it joined its partner, stopping at the backs of her thighs and lifting her up, causing her to wrap her arms around his neck. "I quite like it in the gutter, Jess." He murmured, dropping her on to her bed and crawling on top of her. "Why don't you join me?"

**

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AN: ****I wanted a bit of fluff before I moved on; I know it's a little disjointed, but conversations don't always flow smoothly; people get distracted and whatnot. (I'm starting a campaign to bring 'whatnot' back into our lives; who's with me?) Review please! Including you lurkers in the back – I don't bite, you know!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Please note this chapter is M-rated for a reason.**

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Forbidden Fruit Part Deux

_Don's hand slipped from her hair and down her back until it joined its partner, stopping at the backs of her thighs and lifting her up, causing her to wrap her arms around his neck. "I quite like it in the gutter, Jess." He murmured, dropping her on to her bed and crawling on top of her. "Why don't you join me?"_

Jess moaned, her head falling back against her pillow, as his lips fastened themselves to her neck. "I guess I could. I'm the only one dressed for the gutter, after all."

"We can fix that." Don sat up slightly, pulling his shirt over his head and tossing it into the corner, neither of them bothering to pay attention to where it landed. Almost immediately, he returned to her neck, but his mouth quickly slid down to her collarbone, nipping and sucking at the soft skin.

Jess's hands slipped over his shoulder, her fingers dancing across his bare skin. It wasn't the first time she'd seen him shirtless, but it was the first time she hadn't felt she had to admire it covertly or, worse, avert her gaze completely to keep from jumping him in the locker room. She had never met a man who affected her quite as much as Don did. In fact, she'd never met a man who affected her at all.

Not like this, anyway.

In her other relationships, she had held the power, although she wasn't entirely sure she could call them relationships; they had been mostly physical and hadn't lasted very long, usually because of her job and the hours she had to put in to it.

Maybe that was why this affected her so much. Maybe that was why one look caused her heart to skip a beat, one touch caused her skin to tingle all day, one kiss made her feel like she could move the sun and stop the tides if he asked her to.

Don transferred his mouth back to hers, kissing her deeply and effectively cutting off all coherent thought as his hands slipped behind her back.

Gripping his shoulders, Jess flipped them, taking back some semblance of control. She sank into the kiss, her hands running across his chest. Her lips followed them, exploring his skin as he had hers, eliciting a low moan that seemed to send a rush of heat downwards.

Don unclipped her bra and pulled it away from her body, letting it fall to the floor. The sensation of skin against skin caused both of them to gasp slightly and he pulled her back up so he could kiss her properly, their passion slowly rising as his hands slid down to her waist to pull her closer, skimming the sides of her breasts as they did, causing her to shudder.

Again, they turned; this time, Don stayed her side, rather than on top of her; the loss of contact was disappointing and she caught his gaze, a split-second before his hand cupped her breast, the pad of his thumb brushing across the nipple, causing her eyes to flutter shut with a gasp which turned into a moan when his lips landed on her other breast, his tongue doing things to her skin that made her arch up into his touch.

He lavished her upper body with attention close to reverent worship, reducing her to the point where she felt she might just spontaneously combust if he stopped touching her.

The heat inside her was becoming more and more unbearable and she unzipped his pants, pushing them down; he pushed them off the rest of the way, kicking them to the ground.

The shift in position meant that he settled between her legs, only two thin pieces of materiel separating them. Both moans echoed through the room and Don kissed her shoulder, her neck, and finally a tender spot just below her ear that she knew he had taken note of the first time his lips had travelled there and drawn a soft moan from her parted lips.

"Have I told you lately how gorgeous you are?" Don murmured, his hands tracing circles on her abdomen. He didn't wait for an answer. "Because you are, Jess. Stunning. You have no idea what you do to me."

Jess lifted her hips slightly, feeling his hard length pressing against her core. She heard his breath hitch slightly and his head dropped to her shoulder and a thrill ran through her that he was effected by her just as much as she was by him. "I have a pretty good idea."

"God, Jess, I need you so bad …" His words were hushed and she felt them, rather than heard them, but they still sent another shot of heat through her, causing her panties to dampen even more than they had; she was sure he could feel it even through two layers of fabric.

"Curtains." She whispered. "They need closing first."

Don lifted his head again, a mixture of wonder and lust in his eyes. "I thought you said you always waited until the third date. I count two."

"Yeah, well I started counting earlier than you." Jess told him breathlessly. "Technically speaking, we're up to about twenty; we just weren't calling them dates."

Don kissed her. "Right." He stood and crossed the floor to the window, pulling the drapes closed. The light of the setting sun still filtered through, bathing them in a soft glow as she slipped her panties off, tossing them in his direction with a smirk.

They hit their mark as he turned, falling from his chest into his hands. She watched his eyes darken with a sense of satisfaction, wondering what it was about him that made her so confident about herself. He moved back towards her slowly, his eyes running over her naked body laid out before him like an offering.

The bulge in his boxers seemed to grow even more, as he ran his hands up her leg until he got to her thighs. Then they slipped them between them and tugged gently, forcing her legs to part so they could continue their journey up her inner thighs, slower this time, causing her hips to buck slightly, desperate for some release from the tightening coil inside her.

Finally, his fingers brushed against her soaking wet centre, one slipping inside her in exploration. She let out a moan, her hips subconsciously lifting again.

"I never knew I had this effect on you, Detective." Don murmured, pressing a kiss to the inside of her thigh.

"So it's not _my _knowledge of cause and effect that needs questioning." Jess responded teasingly, her voice sounding strange to her ears. "Because you clearly have no idea what you do to me."

"Oh, I do now." Don disagreed with a smirk she could feel against her skin. Without warning, his mouth slid up to her centre, closing around her clit, causing her to cry out.

One hand grasped her hip, holding her down, and his tongue ran across the tiny nub as his finger worked inside her, another joining it, seeming to know that she wouldn't last long. She could feel herself clenching around her fingers as she writhed beneath him. Replacing his lips with his thumb, Don kissed his way back up to her mouth, kissing her deeply, letting her taste him on his tongue, but he pulled away a moment later, his eyes locking with hers.

Her eyes must have held some sort of question because he smiled softly at her. "I want to watch you when you cum for me."

It was his words that pushed her over the edge, although his very talented fingers definitely helped them along. Her back arched, her inner walls clamped down and her breathing quickened, her hands clenching on the sheets at her side. "Fuck!"

Don's fingers stilled and slipped out of her as he kissed her again, softer this time. "I think that's the first time I've heard you say that."

Jess smiled, the haze that had descended at her orgasm slowly lifting. "I'm sure I've said it before." She pushed his boxers over his ass and he kicked them to the floor. His hard length pressed against her and she throbbed deliciously. Her hand slipped between them, grasping him and stroking him gently, drawing out a moan from the man atop her.

"I need to be inside you, Jess." He groaned, his hand returning to her breast.

Jess gasped slightly. "Top drawer. To your left."

Don reached across, causing him to press even more firmly against her, eliciting another moan from the woman beneath him. He found what he was looking for and pulled back, sitting up to slip the condom over his hard member. His fingers pinched her nipple gently, making it harden even more. "Don …"

Smirking lightly at her reaction, Don swept her hair away from her face and kissed her. As her hands wove into his hair, she felt his tip against her and then he slipped slowly inside, causing her to gasp into his mouth as he did the same, stilling above her.

Jess had been expecting some form of pain or discomfort; he was bigger than any of her previous lovers, something which had scared and excited her at the same time. But he fit inside her perfectly, as though his body had been created specifically for hers. Or hers sculpted to welcome his. Maybe even both. And she knew, looking into his eyes, that he felt it too.

His lips ghosted over hers as he moved inside her, pulling out almost all the way, before pushing back in. His hands slid back to her hips, before running back to cup her ass, squeezing gently as he pulled her closer.

Her head fell back, her nails scraping lightly against his scalp and down his back, as he made love to her, almost torturously slowly, until she fell over the edge again, his name mingled among words in both English and French, a split second before he groaned her name, reaching his release as well.

For a few seconds, they just lay there, bathed in the afterglow.

"Am I crushing you?" Don murmured into her neck.

"No." Jess whispered. "I'm fine." She sighed, feeling a little giddy again. "That was …"

"… overdue." Don finished.

Jess smiled. "Yeah, but that wasn't what I was gonna say."

Don lifted his head with a smirk. "Amazing? Fantastic? The best you'd ever had?"

"Yes, yes and yes." Jess pressed her lips to his lightly. "Something along those lines."

"Does this mean we can skip the awkward post-sex conversation?" Don asked.

Jess laughed quietly. "I guess so."

Don grinned at her, kissing her softly. "I'm gonna go clean up."

"Kay." Jess watched him stand up, suddenly realising how cold the room was without his comforting warmth. "Can I borrow your shirt?"

"Sure." Don stooped to pick it up, along with his boxers and her panties. He tossed her underwear to her and watched her slip them on from the doorway to her bathroom.

"What?" Jess asked, seeing the look on his face.

"You're beautiful, Jess." Don stated softly, throwing his shirt across the room to her. He didn't give her a chance to reply, disappearing through the door, leaving Jess slightly stunned by the raw honesty in his words.

She had left any insecurity about her looks behind with her teenage years, having been on the receiving end of enough leering looks and lame pick-up lines to know that she was attractive. But this was the first time she could remember anyone telling her she was beautiful. When she had caught his gaze just now, his expression had been one of adoration, with no other word to describe it.

When he ducked back out, his boxers back on, that look had gone, but she knew it wasn't far away, hidden behind whatever mask he felt he needed to wear. "You look good in my shirt." He told her, lying down at her side. "Of course, I still think you looked better _out_ of it, but …"

Jess laughed again, pulling the blankets over both of them and nestling into his side, feeling him kiss her hair. Her hand slid down his chest to rest on the scar on his abdomen, a habit she hadn't realised she'd picked up until he asked her about it. Her theory was that it was the most vulnerable part of him, as well as the most likely place for a cop to get injured and she just felt better like that, even if her hand offered little or no protection from the currently non-existent threats. Her quiet explanation had provoked nothing more than a fond chuckle before they had sunk back into silence.

She was drawn from her thoughts when Don rested his hand on hers, tracing the tattoo around her wrist. "When did you get this one?"

"About a year after I joined the Academy." Jess answered quietly. "My Nana used to make friendship bracelets like those. When she died, I wanted something to remember her by."

"Good idea." Don complimented. "I'd have done the same thing."

"No, you wouldn't." Jess disagreed, smirking into his chest. "You're scared of needles."

She felt him flinch. "Good point."

Jess fell silent for a few minutes, before asking, "Do you want me to drop the case? Because, if you're really that unhappy about it …"

Don shifted slightly and cupped her face, lifting it to meet her eyes. "Do you want to drop the case?"

"No." Jess answered. "I want to get this guy."

Don sighed and kissed her forehead. "Then go for it. Just be careful."

Jess rested her head back on his chest. "I always am."

"I didn't know you spoke French." Don commented, his voice a lot quieter as sleep began to steal over them.

"Little bit." Jess murmured, pressing a kiss against his shoulder, smirking inwardly. He didn't really need to know that she was bilingual. Not yet anyway.

His hand ran through her hair, as the first returned to hers, and he kissed her forehead softly, his lips lingering against her skin. "Night, sweetheart."

Jess smiled softly; she loved hearing him call her that. "_Bonne nuit, mon amour._" She remembered the mood she'd been in when she arrived home from work; it seemed like a lifetime ago. His arms held her at his side where she knew she belonged, fitting perfectly into his embrace and reminding her of her earlier thought that they were made for each other.

Maybe some fairytales ending weren't as impossible as she thought.

**

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AN: Please review!**


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